BASKETBALL: ELLESMERE Port has welcomed back one of its most respected coaches with the Panthers basketball club adding the experienced Vic Fleming to their staff.

There has been a continual reel of success stories emanating from The Hub over the past couple of years with Panthers capturing several national titles and now even running a top-flight team.

But the bulk of these triumphs have come from the club's female section, so Vic has been brought in to take charge of the boys teams with Gary Proffitt looking after the girls and Jim McGinn being appointed overall head coach.

Jim said: 'Vic is an excellent coach with a fantastic pedigree. We're running so many teams now that I felt that we needed to bring in a new face on the coaching staff and Vic is the ideal man. As well as having the women's team competing in EBL Division One, we have junior sides for boys and girls of all ages. We don't want to turn away any players because we can't accommodate them.'

Vic, who is originally from the town and took up basketball when he was a pupil at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, has been coaching for 26 years, ever since he took charge of the first year boys' team at the age of 12.

His skills as a play-caller have not only taken him to the higher reaches of the game in these shores, but to continental Europe and the USA too.

He said: 'I coached with Jets in the late 80s at Ellesmere Port and I've also worked with Plymouth Raiders and the basketball academy at Nottingham. I ran the Flintshire club a few years ago but it was a bit of a financial strain and cost £12,000 a year. I've coached women's sides, too, and I helped out with the basketball programme at the University of Wales in Cardiff when I was studying for my masters degree, and they now play in the First Division.'

One of the highlights of Vic's career was when he was appointed as coach of a professional German club which was, by coincidence, in Ellesmere Port's twin town of Reutlingen.

Vic said: 'It was during my time in Germany that I met a Greek coach who took part in camps across North America. I travelled down the east coast, stayed for six months at Gordon College and was assistant director of the Robert Parish/Dee Brown Camp.'

But after returning to the area on taking a job in Deeside, Vic was soon persuaded to take up his post with the Panthers.

He said: 'I've known Jim for a long time and he got in touch with me before the season started and explained that he would not be able to get to all the matches this year due to work commitments. I came down to give Jim a helping hand, taking a few sessions, and things grew from there.

'I can't surpass what Jim has down with the girls' programme. He's won national titles within a couple of years, which is something that many clubs that have been around for 20 years haven't done. This is a massive season for the club with us entering a team in the top division of the women's game for the first time, and our players will have to develop further. But they have the talent to do so, it's just a question of whether we can get the support we need from the community.'

He added: 'There are large transportation costs with away fixtures across the country, while entry fees have to be paid to the governing body. I know the club have done a huge amount of fundraising and a lot of money has come from the pockets of parents and the girls themselves, so any additional help from sponsors would be really appreciated.'

Vic believes that it is McGinn's philosophy of treating his female players the same way as the boys that has helped them to become one of the country's elite sides.

He said: 'Jim treats the girls as basketball play-ers. A lot of coaches use kid gloves with female athletes but Jim doesn't take it easy on them and they have responded well to this set-up. Their record speaks for itself and they have produced four internationals in the most successful ever England programme in Jenny Leedham, Johannah Leedham, Jennifer Fields and Alex Lodge.'

'During my time in the game, basketball has changed a lot in this country. Unfortunately, we are still losing a lot of our best young players to Europe and the US, where they can play at college, and a lot of them don't come back home. I wouldn't like to say that the standard was higher but there is certainly a broader base of talent at the bottom now that more youngsters are playing the game.'